FROM THE CLIENT
THE BRIEF
We were appointed to lead fieldwork and recruitment for a two-stage research project, for global home furnishing retailer, in late 2023.
Our mission was to ascertain an initial understanding of the challenges presented by the (sometimes overwhelming) in-store shopping experience through the lens of people living with disabilities and complex needs.
The project launched an ongoing and high-profile program of research with the aim of the retailer becoming a leader in EDI ‘bricks & mortar’ retail experiences. RAS Accredited Recruiter and BEAMIE, Caitlin Patterson led the recruitment and project management on behalf of BEAM Fieldwork.
THE RECRUIT
Stage 1 ENGAGE EXPERTISE: Gain a broad understanding of challenges and key themes, recruiting one expert representative per disability specialism from the charity sector
Stage 2 ENGAGE REAL PEOPLE: Uncover the intimate experiences and adversities facing people living with challenges, recruiting varying level of impact across three people per disability:
Physical disabilities
Sensory disabilities
Mental health conditions
Neurodiversity
Learning disabilities
Life-affecting illnesses
“We got everything and more from our experts and respondents, and their shopping, browsing and purchase insights were truly revealing.”
THE APPROACH
Collaborating with the client was key to the success of securing the ‘expert’ interviews. Hours of desk research, social media outreach, cold calling, relationship building, and professional approaches formed a successful opportunity for BEAM to present expert options for our client to select their ideal recruit from a shortlist via an ‘Expert on a Page’ profile.
The delicate nature of the recruit, required 100% trust from Stage 2 participants to ensure that their experiences and views were dealt with throughout, with compassion and utmost respect.
Our Company-led ‘Compassionate Care Policy’, provided a framework of safeguarding and communication principles for recruitment.
Attending: Recruitment and contact consistently delivered by the same project team to establish and maintain human connection and build trust.
Understanding & Empathy: We take our time to develop a deeper knowledge of each participant’s experience working beyond the screener to establish meaningful connections and gain more revealing insights.
Helping: Compassionate innovation and quality communications were at the heart of this project to ensure participants always felt comfortable, informed, and in control allowing them to share their views and experiences without fear.
Always available, Project Manager was on hand at every stage to offer reassurance, clear explanations, and constant support to each participant and their caregivers who were involved to ensure their safety during the study where necessary. Continual learning provided the team with a deep understanding of the complex, and often overlapping vulnerabilities allowed a detailed brief to our client before meeting the participant.
BEAM undertook and completed all recruitment and respondent communication, GDPR, and consent handling to ensure quality, integrity, and maintenance of these alongside our responsible company standards.
THE CONCLUSION
Not only did we have a very happy end client, and research agency, we were thrilled that our BEAMIE Project Manager, Caitlin was awarded the 2024 MRS RAS Accredited Recruiter of the Year for her hard work, resourceful recruitment, and passionate approach to fair representation and consistent respondent-first management.
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